


Misunderstandings: The Danger of Miscommunication

by OutlawLord



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: I'll add more tags as i go, Kuroo Tetsurou Being an Idiot, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Mess, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25996399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OutlawLord/pseuds/OutlawLord
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou is pining after his best friend. Kozume Kenma is both the most observant person in the world and a dense dumbass. Rated T for That's a No-No Word.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	1. Kuroo is a Sad Gay

Practice finally ends, and Kuroo finds himself collapsing to the floor overdramatically. Everyone on his team ignores his antics and starts cleaning up. Well, mostly everyone.

Kuroo smirks at his childhood best friend from his spot lying on the gym floor. Kenma stares down at him with faint disdain. "The floor's really dirty," the setter says as he drops down and sits cross-legged next to him. Kuroo huffs a laugh. Kenma ignores him, and simply pulls out his phone from absolutely nowhere and starts playing a game.

“And yet, here you are,” Kuroo sing-songs, leering at Kenma’s impassive face. The setter’s face stays more or less the same, but his dead stare into Kuroo’s eyes tell him that his best friend is annoyed. He can’t help but let his self-satisfied smirk grow a little bigger at getting a reaction out of Kenma, who usually couldn’t be bothered by anyone or anything.

In a fit of petty anger, Kenma turns around and then throws his body backwards, head slamming into the taller boy’s stomach. Kuroo gives a pained groan, and Kenma smiles, satisfied, as he goes back to concentrating on his game.

Kenma leaves his head on Kuroo’s stomach. Kuroo’s mind hyperfocuses on his best friend. The heat that Kenma’s body radiates, the weight of his head against his midsection, the concentration in Kenma’s eyes as his fingers deftly move across the controls, all contributing to Kuroo’s quickening heartbeat. If Kenma doesn’t get off of him soon, he might have a heart attack.

Kuroo has half a mind to risk the heart attack, to keep Kenma where he is. At least he’d die happy.

Instead, they are called by a very annoyed Yaku to help with the cleaning. Kenma simply gets up, puts his phone back into whatever black hole he pulled it from, and goes into the storage room to grab a mop. Kuroo takes a little longer to get off the gym floor, listening with humor as Lev gets chewed out by Yaku for not putting a net away properly, but Kenma’s judgemental stare forces him into action. He joins Lev, helping with taking down the nets, making sure to do it the right way this time. Once they’re done, everyone changes and then goes home.

Kenma stays behind as he waits for Kuroo to get his things together. When he does, Kenma huffs out a small “finally,” and then walks almost glued to his side, comfortably leaning into him while playing his game as they walk home together in comfortable silence. Like he belongs there.

Kuroo really wants him to belong there.

Kuroo stares at the ceiling of his room. He thinks of volleyball practice, unfinished homework that would probably bite him in the ass later, but mostly, he thinks about Kenma.

They've been friends for forever. They've always done everything together, whether it be video games, volleyball, or even something as mundane as walking to school. They are inseparable, always seen in people's minds as a pair, never one without the other. Everyone thinks that that's because Kenma needs Kuroo. Without Kuroo, Kenma would have no one.

The reality is, it's Kuroo that needs Kenma.

Kuroo is sociable, and has many people to call friends, but it’s Kenma that he needs to keep himself afloat. Without Kenma to tell him that, no, you shouldn’t combine hot sauce and matcha ice cream, or to remind him that he’s more than the points that he makes in a match, Kuroo would be lost.

Kenma would be completely fine by himself. It's Kuroo that would fall apart at the seams.

He wonders why Kenma even continues to stay by his side. Most of the time, he's just playing games silently, giving half-hearted responses to Kuroo's idle chatter. Kuroo is pretty sure that to Kenma, he's just an annoyance that's kept around out of pity. He’s observant, he must know how dependent Kuroo has become on his company.

Kuroo gives a heavy sigh, and pulls himself out of bed, knowing that there's no use in trying to go to sleep now, not while his brain is being so overactive.

He stares out of his window at the stars. He sees three stars in a line, and whispers to himself, "Orion's belt." The only constellation he had ever bothered to remember. Kenma had mentioned when they were learning about constellations in school that Orion’s Belt was his favorite. When asked why, he simply explained, “It’s the easiest to remember. It’s just a straight line.”

The stars, from such a far distance, look so close together. In reality, hundreds of thousands of light years separate them. He can't help but to feel like he and Kenma are stars. From an outsider's perspective, they must look very close, even though it doesn't feel that way at all. He doesn’t know much about Kenma at all. He doesn’t know his motivations, his feelings, why he acts the way he does, why does Kenma stay?

Kuroo presses one hand against the cool glass, the other on his heart. It hurts, longing for someone who’s already always by your side. What right does he have to call himself Kenma’s best friend, when these traitorous thoughts occupy his mind? How could he be so selfish, and want more?

The team captain allows one tear to slide down his face. Just one, though, because any more and he'd feel too pathetic to face Kenma in the morning, which would be problematic, seeing as Kenma is the main setter, and he's literally the team captain so he's supposed to be a reliable leader, and also Kenma basically relies on Kuroo to be his wake-up alarm for school since they walk together every morning so it'd all be his fault if Kenma's late to school-

Kuroo has his quiet mental breakdown, unaware of the fact that, in the Kozume house, Kenma is standing at his window, staring up at the same stars, hoping that he'd get a late-night text from him.


	2. Kenma is a Confused Gay

Kenma doesn’t know what’s wrong with Kuroo.

They had gone on their first date the earlier weekend, on a Saturday. It had looked like he was having fun. Kenma tried tucking himself into Kuroo’s body a little more while walking, since Kenma didn’t really want to stop playing his game to hold hands, and Kuroo had blushed and looked away the way he does when he’s embarrassed. He hadn’t pulled away though, which meant he was just embarrassed by how much he liked it. Kenma had resolved to walk like that from then on.

They had gone to the local arcade, and Kenma had made his rounds, making sure to maintain his position as the top score. Kuroo had stood behind him, peering over his head and shouting excitedly as Kenma broke new records. Kenma is ninety percent sure that Kuroo actually had no idea what was going on, and only saw lots of colorful explosions on-screen and got excited. Then, Kenma and Kuroo played two-player games. It was fun, and sometimes Kenma let Kuroo win. He always smiled so widely, even though he’d say, “I know you threw that round.”

But the date had gone smoothly, and when Kenma forced an “I had fun” out past the lump of nervousness in his throat (and really, why the hell is he nervous to say that to the guy who’s been his best friend for literally more than half of their entire lives), Kuroo had smiled that genuine smile that shines in his eyes and replied with an easy, “I always have fun with you, kitten.”

And yet.

Kenma knows for a fact that Kuroo is trying to avoid him. Not physically, because escaping Kenma is a feat that Kuroo has tried before, and failed at miserably.

(They were in elementary school. Kuroo had gotten into a fight, and the bruises trailed up his arms. His knuckles were bleeding and his face had a big purple-blue mark on it. Kenma found him hiding underneath the slide structure in the park. Kuroo had screamed like a girl when Kenma had slid in next to him in the cramped space.

They had slept there, under the slide, next to each other, until Kuroo woke up just as the sun was setting, and put a sleepy, tired Kenma on his back and walked him home.)

But he’s trying to avoid him mentally. He clocks out whenever he’s walking with Kenma, getting so lost in his own thoughts that Kenma can’t play games out of fear that they’d both start wandering down the wrong path and end up lost. Kenma stays cuddled up to Kuroo’s side, but instead of gripping his game console, he fists Kuroo’s jacket and tugs whenever they need to turn. It kind of feels like a driving game, using a joystick to control his character.

Kuroo’s empty like a game character. Kenma doesn’t like it.

“What’s up with you recently?” the shorter boy finally asks as they eat lunch together. Kuroo’s eyes widen as if being snapped back into reality, and Kenma can tell he’s finally reemerged from whatever thinking-sinkhole he’d been stuck in for the past fifteen minutes. Kuroo picks up his chopsticks for the first time since lunch started, and smiles easily. So fake.

“Nothing. Here, you need more vegetables, take this.”

And that’s throwing Kenma off too, because Kuroo doesn’t seem to want to talk to him, but when he does, he sounds so genuinely concerned about his well-being. So what, Kuroo doesn’t suddenly hate him or anything, but he doesn’t want anything to do with him? Kenma feels irrational anger welling up within him, and he does nothing to quell it.

“If you don’t want to talk to me, I won’t talk to you,” Kenma says quietly, almost a whisper. No one else in the class has heard it, but everyone hears the loud sound Kenma’s chair makes when he scoots back, purposefully making its legs scrape against the perfect, previously-unmarked floor. Kenma pretends he doesn’t see the hurt, slightly confused expression on his boyfriend’s face.

At practice, Kenma doesn’t speak to Kuroo. In fact, he’s careful not to even look in his direction. He won’t give him the satisfaction of eye contact.

Aren’t we supposed to be in the honeymoon phase right now? Kenma asks himself as he tosses to Lev. The Russian giant laughs proudly as the spike lands. There's the sound of a volleyball being served, and it being received. Kuroo, from the other side of the net, tries desperately to get his attention.

Why are we fighting? Why is he ignoring me? Why-

“Kenma, ball!” Kuroo screams, sounding terrified in a way he's never heard before, and Kenma comes to just in time to see the volleyball coming straight for his face.

Ah, shit, he thinks, right before the ball connects and he’s knocked unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this how you do cliffhangers?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They stop being idiots. Kind of.

Kenma blinks awake in the nurse’s office, the bright light right above his bed hurting his head, and he thinks that he’s dead for a second. Kenma shuts his eyes tight and gives a small groan. Immediately, he feels warm, familiar hands on his shoulders. Isn’t it strange, he thinks to himself, that I’ve gotten used to something as weirdly specific as his hands on my shoulders?

“Kuroo?” Kenma mumbles, and instantly that nice voice, usually so loud, is matching his volume, practically whispering his affirmations, yes, Kenma, I’m here, are you awake, Kenma please, I’m here with you, Kenma, Kenma, Kenma.

A nice womanly voice calls out, jarringly loud compared to Kuroo’s whispered assurances, “Kozume-san? Are you awake?” Kenma pries his eyes open as if to say, What the hell do you think? The nurse lady smiles and says, “Well, it seems that you had a little fainting spell when the volleyball hit your head, but you don’t seem to have a big enough concussion to warrant passing out.” She shines a light in both of Kenma’s eyes quickly, nodding to herself as if reaffirming her own suspicions. “Have you been in an extraordinary amount of stress recently?”

Kenma stares at Kuroo, who stares back quizzically. He thinks of the way Kuroo has been avoiding him, and how all of the very little energy he has in the first place has been going towards thinking about Kuroo. He thinks of the extra effort he put into making sure that he didn’t have to interact with Kuroo during practice earlier that day. He thinks of the lunch that he didn’t end up eating.

Kenma nods. Kuroo suddenly looks so concerned, and Kenma wants to scream.

“Well, that combined with the knock to the head is probably what knocked you out for so long,” the nurse said cheerily.

Kenma suddenly looks outside, and sees that it is almost dark. “What time is it?”

“Practice should be ending right about now,” Kuroo replies easily. Kenma’s eyes widen.

The catlike boy whispers, “Kuroo Tetsurou, don’t you dare tell me that you skipped out on practice today for this.”

“For you,” Kuroo corrects, “I did this for you, and I would do much more.” He pauses. “Fuck, that came out really gay.”

“Gay?” Kenma asks. “Kuroo, we’ve been dating for-”

“We’ve been dating?”

“Haven’t we?” Kenma retorts, putting much more heat into the words than he actually feels. What he really wants to do is pass out again and never wake up. Weren’t they dating? Hadn’t Kenma asked him out? How was he not clear enough when he asked Kuroo out to the arcade? Is that why Kuroo has been acting strange? Because Kenma had projected his feelings onto Kuroo, and had seen something that wasn’t actually there?

“Nevermind,” Kenma mutters before Kuroo can get his thoughts together. “I’m going home first. Goodnight, ma’am,” Kenma bows politely to the nurse after swinging his legs off the bed and pushing himself up. Kuroo hovers awkwardly around him, wanting to help but unsure if he’s allowed to. Kuroo opens his mouth but Kenma simply says, “Kuroo,” and walks as fast as he can to the changing room.

“Fuck,” Kuroo whispers to himself under his breath. The nurse glares at him, and Kuroo smiles sheepishly before bowing out respectfully and gunning it to the changing room.

Kuroo catches Kenma just as he’s closing the changing room door, and when Kenma tries to sidestep him, Kuroo blocks his way. “Please talk to me,” Kuroo pleads. He can hear the rest of the team, Yamamoto especially, yelling raucously inside the changing room. The captain gently grabs Kenma’s wrist and whispers, “Come on,” leading the smaller boy to one of the various tables scattered around the school campus.

They sit down, and it almost feels like the lunch they didn’t get to have earlier today, sitting together, side by side. The silence is heavy with the things left to say, but for now, the world is holding its breath, as they quietly watch the last of the sun’s light fading under the horizon.

Kuroo reluctantly breaks the silence. “What did you mean, we’re dating?” he whispers. One step forward. The distance of the stars between them, like Orion’s Belt, but Kuroo feels like trying to close it. It almost feels possible.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kenma mutters. “You obviously don’t feel the same way.”

“I wouldn’t know if I feel the same way because I don’t know how you feel,” Kuroo snarks back.

“Are you really going to make me say it?”

“I want to hear it.”

“I like you.”

Kuroo takes a deep breath, and lets the air fall silent again. Kenma’s body, pressed against him on the small bench, won’t stop squirming. Kuroo brings his arm up, and lets it fall heavily on Kenma’s shoulder. The smaller boy flinches slightly. His body falls still.

“That sucks,” Kuroo mutters, and Kenma’s eyes fixate on the ground, “because after saying something like that, looking as cute as you do now, shit, you’re stuck with me forever.” Kenma’s head snaps up and stares into Kuroo’s eyes. Kuroo smiles, and it reaches his eyes in a way Kenma realizes he’s never seen before, not even in Kuroo’s previous relationships. “I won’t ever be able to let you go.”

“Then don’t,” Kenma says, and it’s just as simple as that. Kenma melts into Kuroo’s side for just a little longer, and then wrinkles his nose. “You need to change. You’re really sweaty.” Kuroo pulls away a little, but Kenma's body just follows his, so they settle pressed against each other again.

“I’m a nervous sweater!” Kuroo exclaims as they maneuver themselves so that they can stand without separating. “You scared me when you passed out, you know.”

“My sweaty Prince Charming,” Kenma deadpans, and Kuroo can’t hold back a guffaw. Kenma smirks, but he hides it by tucking his face into Kuroo’s sweaty jersey.

Kuroo keeps his arm around Kenma, no distance to be crossed between them. He promises himself that he is never letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha thanks for reading, hope the ending isn't too anticlimactic or something...


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